Practical Prayer

DEAN MATHERNE and his wife Inger Hoffmann Matherne have been married for 27 years and live in Thibodaux. They are parishioners of St. Genevieve where Dean is a member of the Knights of Colombus. Dean is a teacher/minister at E.D. White and is passionate about mentoring young people and teaching them to live a practical Catholic life and modeling community service to them.

The journey for me to incorporate praying the Rosary into my daily prayer life was a long and often difficult process. I received my first Rosary at 27 years old as a gift upon completion of the RCIA program. Unfortunately, I did not think to start praying it. This was the beginning of trying to live a Catholic life “my way.” I was striving for excellence, but it wasn’t by God’s guidance that I tried to achieve it.

Years later, I was presented with another Rosary at 41 years old upon joining the Knights of Columbus. My brother knights encouraged me to carry it with me always and to pray it often. I struggled with the Rosary. At the time, the only prayers of the Rosary I could recite were the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be, and even that was overwhelming. I would find myself counting down until it was done. I wondered; how could anyone recite the Hail Holy Queen from memory? In time, I came to learn the Fatima Prayer and with the help of a “How to Pray the Rosary” pamphlet, I learned of the different mysteries. I had such a desire to pray the rosary often, but how? This is where God came to my rescue. I find it fitting that a Discernment Rosary is what initiated the development of my prayer life and love for the Rosary. My parish implementation team discerned during a Rosary to invite me to become a parish missionary disciple (PMD). The PMD training brought me into a Christian community. I was finally learning how to pray, at 49 years old, through my small group. Later, I was invited to prepare for Marian Consecration. It was through this retreat that I really began to understand the role of my Holy Mother and why praying the Rosary is so important. Besides the Father, no one knows the Son better than His mother. Through the Rosary, I learned to ask Mother Mary to intercede for me, to help me to come into communion with her son Jesus that I could make Him my top priority and not just mixed in with other priorities in my life. She revealed to me that the key to prayer is to focus on being present, to relax and spend time with Jesus. This revelation helped me to pray the Rosary more often and ultimately daily. I was surprised at how soon I was able to pray the whole Rosary from memory. As I would pray the different mysteries each day, I realized that the Rosary is all about Jesus. I stopped seeing the Rosary as a chore, but as a pathway to excellence.

As I prayed the Rosary, I saw the example of Jesus’ life right there before me. Through the Joyful Mysteries, He showed me that He is truly God incarnate. In the Luminous Mysteries, I was reminded of the importance of baptism and Holy Communion. In the Glorious Mysteries, He showed me the sacrament of confirmation and that He is the God of the living in Heaven. In the Sorrowful Mysteries, I was shown what true love looks like in His passion and death. In this, God revealed to me those things that are keeping me from being in communion with Him. 

After going to reconciliation, I moved out of mortal sin and other barriers between me and communion with God became apparent to me. Over time He revealed that my job was an obstacle to my communion with Him. Through prayerful men at an ACTS retreat He called me to E. D. White Catholic High School. Through my daily rosaries, and daily scripture reading, He called me even closer. He called me to adjust my tithing to the Church and to commit to regular fasting. Then, once after reconciliation, I was given penance to pray the Luminous Mysteries for guidance. In those Rosaries, God called me to reconcile with loved ones in my life. I was terrified that honesty would cost my relationships with them, but God showed me that to get closer to Him, I had to trust others to love me – not the carefully crafted facade of me, but the true me, sin and all. This was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but it brought true healing and brought me deeper into communion with the Body of Christ. 

Of course, it’s not always huge changes, He also revealed little things to me. Once I woke in the middle of the night restless about a speech I needed to give the next day. I decided to pray a Rosary to settle my mind. Instead of going back to sleep, I was presented with His message for my speech. Through praying the Rosary, I am finally achieving excellence through the gifts God has given to me. I still have difficulties praying the Rosary. My mind still wanders, but I have learned to offer it to God. These distractions are the things the evil one uses to keep us from praying the Rosary at all. I have found, the wandering thoughts that interrupt my prayer are the very issues I need to offer up to God. Every morning, I pray the Rosary while I exercise. I find it clears my negative thoughts and feelings and prepares me to receive God’s message each day. Life is a journey. We are either headed toward God or away from Him on this journey of life. Praying the Rosary keeps me in a place where I can hear and put into action God’s will for me every day. I am still a poor miserable sinner, but behold God makes all things new.

Prayers of the Rosary

Introductory and Repeating Prayers:

The Apostles Creed:

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
He descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father
almighty;
from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the Resurrection of the Body,
and life everlasting. 
Amen.

The Our Father:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass
against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

The Hail Mary:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you;
blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

The Glory Be:

Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

The Fatima Prayer:

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins,
save us from the fires of hell;
lead all souls to heaven especially those who
are in most need of Your mercy.
Amen.

Concluding Prayers:

The Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to you we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn, then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us;
and after this, our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

The Rosary Prayer

Let us pray,
(Response) O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life,
death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards
of eternal salvation. Grant, we beseech Thee, that while
meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we may both imitate what
they contain and obtain what they promise, through
Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mysteries of the Rosary:

JOYFUL MYSTERIES (MONDAY AND SATURDAY):

1. The Annunciation
2. The Visitation
3. The Nativity
4. The Presentation in the Temple
5. The Finding in the Temple

SORROWFUL MYSTERIES (TUESDAY AND FRIDAY):

1. The Agony in the Garden
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
3. The Crowning with Thornes
4. The Carrying of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion and Death

GLORIOUS MYSTERIES (WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY):

1. The Resurection
2. The Ascension
3. The Decent of the Holy Spirit
4. The Assumption
5. The Coronation of Mary

LUMINOUS MYSTERIES (THURSDAY):

1. The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan
2. The Wedding Feast at Cana
3. Jesus’ Proclamation of the Coming of the
Kingdom of God
4. The Transfiguration
5. The Institution of the Eucharist